Battery initial discharge device



Nov. 3, 1931. M, 1 MARTUS ET A1.

I BATTERY INITIAL DISCHARGE DEVICE Filed Feb. 2, 1928 N le .im al allo el INVENTORS |`r| L. Marius Edmund H. Becker, and

James G. Ross Mart ATTORNEYS. WMQ# Patented Nov. 3, 1931 i lpuN{fran}STATl-:s

PATENT OFFICE MARTINE. MAETUs,for{woonEunY, yArm EDMUND H. EECKEEAND JAMES G. Ross.

' f WATEREUnrcoNNEoTIoUT v n EATTE'nYiNITmL DISCHARGE DEVICE v `Application filed February 2, 1928. Serial No. 251,316.

Y I Our invention relates tof-improvements in primary batteries,`and v,particularly to the class known as the' caustic Vsodazinc-copper oxide'cell. It is' well knownjthat these cells are subject to deteriorationiflet stand onY open circuit, the new-solution attacking' the copper oxide ,causingit-tojpassv intothe soluf tionf and fouling the jzinc, andreventually short circuiting thecell. These deleterious yeects are particularly Vapparent in acircuit where the discharge rateis very low with long .Open circuit periods such as occur in a battery operatingf telephones,V n openk circuit burglar l alarms, signal lights,et c. Batteries'on thisclass of work for a periodfofvwone year will' not exhaust uniformly. Y

Y Wehave discovered ythat` if a cell vis discharged.continuouslyffor about five to ten percent vof its Vlife immediately upon immersing the elements, thereby changing the character 'of the `elements and electrolyte, these deleterious effects' are -pra-cticallyveliminated. n During thisl .closed circuit vperiod the initial voltage. of the batteryiisreduced to a point practically equalv to the Vvoltage of thebattery whennear exhaustion, thereby facilitating the adjustment or relays and de.- termining at the .time .of installation vthe minimum@ number of cells necessary to operate the circuit.V f

Weare aware that a battery could be initiallyl dischargedv through a* resistance by rmakingl the necessary externalconnections in the usual way, but this methodv would noty be practical. .l l

Our invention eliminates fthehuman element by including' thei short circuiting device inthe original assembly of the elements, the chemical action ofthe c ell causing it to release at any predeterminedtime after the i elements are immersed.: y y

Wevk have illustrated andy described our in,- vention as applied in a satisfactory-and' particular `mannerbut it will befobvious thatA other n a'daptations.'may''V bei: employedv and f several views.

ing drawingsforming a part of this specification and 'in which similar reference symbols indicateA corresponding parts in` the 50 fr 1g. l shows a vertical sectional elevational Vview or a commercial form of batteries t which our invention is shown applied;

1Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional view ythrough a positive and negativey electrode of the typedef Acell shown in Fig. l, and illustrating a modified formof the invention; f

. Fig. 3 is a somewhat similarsectional view, illustrating a further modification;

F ig. 4 illustrates another modified means of carrying the invention into effect; and

`Fig. 5 "shows a detachedk perspective view of the form of resistance device employed in Figul. l

We have used a commercialadd water type copper oXide-zinc-caustic soda cell to illustrate our invention as in thistype the elements are always subjected to a hot solution initially and the cupric oxide is practically non-conductive yuntil thev cell has been kworked suliicientlyto reduce'the oxide surf the initialclosed circuit is controlled by the nature and thickness of the material used, and can be made to automatically clear itself at practically any predetermined time.' The dischargerate is governed by a short link of resistance wire having one end electrically connected tothe soluble or holding part and cathode of the cell, theother end serving as a springy extension to engagewith the other element of the cell. I k

This particular'cell which we have usedto illustrate our invention has a capacity of seventy-five ampere hours. The caustic soda, oil, Vzinc and copper oxide elements are a'll self-contained requiring only the addition of water to make the cell active. The copper 90 oxide is in granular form and is contained in a perforated metal container. Y

Referring in detail to the characters of reference marked upon the drawings, 10 repp resents a battery jar, 11 an insulative cover and 12 a threaded ring for detachahly engaging threads of the upper end portion of the ar for retaining the cover in position.v 'lhe cover, as shown, is provided with ahole 13 and a stopper 14 for closing the same. The hole serves tok receive the 'central suspension rod 15 held imposition by a nut16. A suitable space 17 is used between the cover and l the top lend of thenegative electrode 18 for v against the ends of the cylinder by the before electrode.

rigidly supporting the latter `rin spacedV relation to the top of the j ar. The negative electrode shown, includes a perforated basketvl having top and bottom caps 20 and 21 held suspension rod by holding negative" electro-de in position, ,but also serves as a conductor forthe cathode when a fieldwire is connected to thefbinding po'st2l. Adjacent vto the nut 22 on the lowerend of the rod areiinsulative Vdiscs 25 and 26 between which the hub of ya metal :spider 27 is positioned upon the rod and insulated therefrom.` The 'spider in? v-cludes -several arms which extend out and downward `for engagement with the inner wall of theibatt'ery jar so as to center the element within the jar. l

The anode v2S is of a cylindrical form pro-V vided with means to prevent displacement. x and hold it in spaced relation to the-inner wall of the jar so as to provide a free circulation of the solution on both sides thereof.

`This element is provided with a rubber-covered resistance wire 29,',which extends out through a yhole in the cover. This wire is VValso preferably provided witha hard rubber sleeve 30 within the jar intermediate of the top AendV of the zinc fand theV cover so as to better protect the suspension means of the two elements against short circuit.

The cell "shown is further provided with caustic soda 31 in cake forni whichV automatically makes the electrolyte when water is added. i Y l The oil capsule 32 shown in the bottom of the jar is made of asoluble material which is acted upon by the water and soda, releasing the oil to seal the solution.

Referring nowmore specifically to our im- `provedv ,means for effecting an automatic initial Adischarge ofthe battery, it will be Vseen that thisdevice is preferably located in the lower part ofthe battery and in whole or in part sofa metal electropositive to the.

cathode or depolarizer 0f the cell and may be Therod 15 not only serves as a` substance capable of being dissolved Vby the Y electrolyte. The effective operation of the device depends upon the action of the electroi lyte solution dissolving the nietalor upon the action between the metal and the cathode element of the cell, or both-combined. As designed, this device consists preferably of a smally sheet metal link 33cut from stock of approximately .O20 of an inch thick, that is electrically'connecte'd tothe cathode element ofthe cell, the attachment being preferably made as between the two lower nuts 34 upon the lower threaded end'portion of the rod 15'." One end `fof a short piece of hard drawn nichrome resistance wire about 11/2 inches long and having a resistance of .2 ohnis isjsecf-.ired to theone end portion of the link 33,ftlie freefend of the said wire being lbent upwand disposed into the cylindrical Zinc anode so as to lfrictionally engage the same by spring; means and Ltothat veXtent close the circuitfbetween the-two electrodes. This device'is,obviouslyinadeup to forni a part ofv the battery and is put outupon the market assembled in thezmanner shown, and for the operatic-n of the cell, it is but necessary to fill the saine with water, whereupon lthe voltage gradually increases as the cake of soda'dissolves. yfn about twentyn'iinutes the solution will have reached aV temperature of about 1436 F., thesoda will have completely dis solved into the solution'whereupon ourl novel devicefwill continueto.discharge"`tlie cell at a rate ofapproximately 2% aiiiperes, for a 'period of about two hours, at which'time the soluble link of zinc 33V will liavedissolved into the solution thereby releasing the resistance wire 35 which ldrops by gravity to the bottom lofthejar thereby stopping the action at a time which/has been "predetermined according to the 'structure of the soluble link.

The modified device shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, differ principally in they form of the re- Vsistance wire 35n which is provided with a seriesof spring coil/s' as shown in Fig. 2- In Fig. 3, the point of securing the wire 35b to the link'is on the opposite side from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2,'and affords the use of a longer resistance wire 35h.` AIii-Fig. et, the resistance 'wire35c carried by the link 33 eX'- tends up'through ya hole 36 in the thin lower edge portion 37f'of the zinc electrode which in this particular form of device is designed to form the'nieans lfor breaking .the shunt insteadof the link .as in the other forms.

We have 4ascertained by* means of experimentation that the byproducts produced in the cell through the action of the cell havea different effect than when chemicals of eXactlyjtlie same constituency .are introduced into the cell. ln other words,theby-products of the action 'of'y exhaustion Aproduce an effect which is decidedly favorable to the life of vproduced through thev action ofthe cell .are

Y being used over a long period'off time either under avery light discharge rate or a dis- Vcharge 'which is intermittent andinwhich 1 theI circuit is closed foral vshort period at relativelylong intervals of time. vIt is on this l particular kind of-'service that our kdevice shows up to its very greatest advantage.

1 resulting action in our cell would be abattery The initial orpeak voltage which is a characteristic ofthe copper oxidefzinc-caustic soda ,cell is not desirable when lamps are lighted by these batteries as it tends tofsubj ect kthe filament to a slightlyy higher voltage for a short period of time. This is particularly so when the circuit is. first closed.

cell more uniformi l Of course this saine result 'could be obtained kby 'putting in an external shunt of high resista-nce, but with our device this external shunt is' not necessary. If the resistance wire which we have'mentionerd has a resistance of about 100 ohms, the

rwith'"`practically no high initial voltage.

Thisfdevice would be especially applicable on cells which 'are ordinarily on open circuit,

but are used for lighting of electric lights for short-.intervals of time after being on open circuit for a comparatively long time.

The following diagram shows three voltage curves, the first ofwhich is produced by a cell withoutour device, the second; a cell with our device, and the third; a cell with our-device carrying a load of three ainperes.

vom

Having thus described ourinvention, what We desire to secure by Let-ters Patent is:

.1. In a. primary battery, positive and negative electrodes, a conductor between the twoA electrodes within the cell for temporarily Vclosing thecircuit, an active solution for dissolving and releasing said conductor by the chemical action of the cell shortly after being immersed.

2.A In a primary battery, positive and negative electrodes,ametal connector secured to one elect-rode within the cell andengaging the other for'temporarily closing the circuit ofthe cell, ani active solution for automatically releasing the connector by the chemical action of the cell shortly after being iinmersed.

3. In a primarybattery, an anode, a cathi ode, an active solution therefor, a metal electro-positiveto the negative element capable of being dissolved by anelectrolyte, connect- `ing the two saidelectrodes within the cell whereupon the internal discharge of the cell does not materially decrease the commercial efficiency of the cell. r y 4. In a. primary battery, positive and negative electrodes, an active solution therefor, a

metal connector secured to one electrode and engaging the other within the cell and elec'- tro-positive 'to the negative element, capable ofbeing dissolved byan electrolyte whereupon the internal discharge of thek cell does not-materially decrease the eiiiciency of the cell. U f Our de` vice may be used to make thevoltage of the 5. In a' primary battery, ypositive and negative electrodes, an active solution therefor, a metal connector including a resistance wire extending `from one electrode to theV other within thecell and adapted to function to form a temporarily closed circuit for alimy ited timeand capable of being vdissolved by electro-chemical action of thecell.

6." Ina primarybattery, a positive and nega-tive electrode,van active solution, a metal connector, one endi attached to one ofsaid kelectrodes and its other end disposed against the opposite electrode to form a temporary closed circuit within the cell, and capable of being quickly dissolved to break the connection byyfunctioning of the electrolyte.

7 In a primary battery, positive and negative electrodes, an active solution therefor, thefnegative electrode including a suspension rod, an electric connector attached to said rod including a vresistance wire having its free end portion ydisposed against the other electrode within the cell and capable of being dissolved by limited functioning of the electrolyte to break the connection.

8. Ina primaryrbattery, a positive element,

` a negative element and depolarizer, an electrolyte solution, a metal conductor in contact with both of said elements within the cell,

said conductor automatically opening one of said contacts through the action of the cell shortly after cell starts functioning.

9. Ina primary cell, positive and negative elements, an' electrolytesolution therefor, a

conductor of electric current within the cell for temporarily closing the circuit, the chemical action kof the cell serving t0 dissolve iio she conductor after a .limited time, to open l the circuit.

1F10, In a primary cell, positive and negative elements therefor, an electrolyte salt to make the electrolyte solution when mixed with water, an electrical conductor temporarily closing the circuit within the cell through a low resistance, said circuit being independent "ivo `olthe working circuit of the battery, Ameans, -for opening said temporary low vresistance circuit within a predetermined time .latter the cell has been made active. y

11.v ln a primary cell, kassembly including I ositiveand neo'ative elements an electrol te salt therefor, anzelectricalv conductor closn ing the circuit betweeiithev electrodes, means within the cell to automatically open said circuit at a predetermined time 'after making the cell active.

- 12. In a primary cell assembly including ositive and iiecfative` elements an electrol te D 7 Vsalt therefor, an electrical conductor of sluitiin `-`a battery electrolyte automatically by electro-chemical means within the `cell by ,producing a temporary internal closed circuit between the elements within' the electrolyt'e. p Signed-at Waterbury in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut this 27th dayof January, A. D V`1928. e n' Y MARTIN .MARTUSL EDMUND H. BECKER. vJAMES G.. ROSS.

-cient resistancetc prevent overloading the cell, closing' the circuit between the electrodes,

' `means within the-cellto automatically open said circuit at .a predetermined'. time after making,` theY cell active'.y 13. A primary cell of the-Lalande type having` a metal conductor of predetermined resistance between. the positive and negative Y elements,"one end o f'saidconductor in contact with' the depolarizer element within the cell,

the other end in 1contact with an adjacently positioned ymetal electroJpositive yto copper,

and meanswhereby the contact between said conductor and one ot the elements will bek automatically discontinued ata controllable 'tiineater the cell starts functioning.

lily-Alpriinary cell of the Lalande type having a metal conductor ot predetermined i resistance, one end of said conductor in con- 'ta-ct within the cell with the positive electrode of the cell, the other end in contact with an adj acently Vpositioned metal electro-negative to the positive electrode, and means whereby f the Contact between said conductor and one 'of the elements will be discontinued within acontrollable time interval after the `cellY v'starts functioning.

15. AThe method of producing a change in the characteristics of a cell of the Lalande type benelicial to the operation of the cell by producing an internal closed circuit between the `anode and cathode within the cell.

16. Ylna Lalande type of battery the method or producing a Zinc complex beneficial to the operation of a cellby producing' an automatic emporary internal closed circuit between the electrodes within the cell.

17. The method of producing a change in the operatingv characteristics of a cell having a caustic soda electrolyte and a Zinc electrode beiiecialto the operation of the cell by producing a temporary internal closed .circuit between thev anode and cathode within the cell.`

18. The method ofproducing` achange in l the operating characteristics of a cell lhaving,` an alkali electrolyte and ya Zinc electrode beneficialto the operation of the cell by causing;l a temporary internal discharge circuit within the cell. Y 1 Y f l y 19. The method of'forniing zinc complexes 

